By Matthew Barnes, Sports Editor
During the lengthy 82-game season, the 30 NBA franchises scramble to plan their future and improve their rosters. On Feb. 7, with All-Star Weekend right around the corner, teams had to make last minute moves to prepare for the remainder of the season. Here are some of the key takeaways from the deadline:
The East becomes even more of a toss-up
Going into February, most analysts had the Raptors and Celtics as the favorites in the Eastern Conference with the 76ers and Bucks in contention as well. Three of those four teams all made big moves at the deadline to increase their chances.
The Raptors upgraded at the center position, landing former All-Star Marc Gasol from the Grizzlies. In exchange, they had to dump their current center, Jonas Valanciunas, along with Delon Wright, CJ Miles and a 2024 second round pick. This rounds out their starting five, which is now composed of All-Star Kawhi Leonard, a top 10 center and two consistent contributors in Pascal Siakam and Danny Green.
The Sixers sacrificed some depth to land another significant addition of their own, giving up three bench pieces and two picks in order to land Tobias Harris from the Clippers. Harris is averaging 20.8 points a game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field this season. Throw him in with Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick, and the Sixers now have one of the most dangerous starting groups in the league.
Then there were the Bucks, who gave Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as the Greek Freak, some more help with the addition of former Pelicans player Nikola Mirotic. This was part of a three-team trade, and the Bucks didn’t lose any significant pieces. Four second round picks, along with two benchwarmers, were enough to snag Mirotic, who is averaging 16.7 points a game. The Bucks now have a stretch-four who can shoot the lights out.
Anthony Davis stays put
The hottest commodity going into the deadline was Anthony Davis, the Pelicans big man who is largely noted as a top-five player in the league. He told his organization that he wanted to be traded, and knowing that Davis will be a free agent after next season, the Pelicans general manager started making calls to see who they could get in return for Davis. After days of drama with the Los Angeles Lakers, the two teams could not reach a deal. Apparently, no team was willing to give the New Orleans team what it was looking for because Davis remains with the team and will finish out the season. It will be interesting to see what the Pelicans do with him after the season ends.
Philly gives up on No. 1 pick
In a draft class featuring the likes of Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell and Kyle Kuzma, the Philadelphia 76ers took Washington star Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick. It’s safe to say Fultz has had struggles since entering the league and hasn’t given the 76ers the return on investment they were hoping for. His jump shot is funky, he has faced multiple injuries and he just looks uncomfortable on the court. After a year and a half, the 76ers decided to move on from Fultz. He is now a player for the Orlando Magic, who can afford a work in progress more than the Sixers can. Fultz will likely get significant minutes in Orlando, who is in desperate need of guards, and will hopefully blossom into the prospect he was drafted to be.
The common phrase at trade deadline is that “the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.” But this year, it felt more like, “The great stay put, the good get better, the mediocre get worse and the bad make progress.” All-Star Weekend is happening Feb. 15-17, and then teams resume play to cap off their seasons.
